Trinity College 2018 Football Preview
2017: Record 8-1
NBN Projected Record: 6-3
Projected Offensive Starters (*6 returning):
QB: Jordan Vazzano ‘21
RB: Max Chipouras ‘19*
WR: Koby Schofer ‘20*
WR: Jonathan Girard ‘21*
WR: John Spears ‘19*
TE: Teddy Allmendinger ‘20
T: Austin Baiardi ‘20*
G: Alex Wukovits ‘20*
C: Steve O’Reilly ‘19*
T: Sam Bowtell ‘19
G: Matt Covel ‘19
Projected Defensive Starters (*7 Returning):
DB: Matt Patry ‘20
DB: Matt McCarthy ‘21
S: Chandler Colberg ‘19*
S: Sameir Madden ‘19*
LB: Dago Picon-Roura ‘19*
LB: Shane Libby ‘19*
LB: Sean Smerczynski ‘19*
DL: Corey Jean-Jacques ‘19*
DL: Nick Rose ‘19*
DL: James Christiano ‘21
DL: Devyn Perkins ‘20
Projected Special Teams Starters (*2 Returning):
K: Eric Sachse ‘19*
P: Ian McDonald ‘20*
KR/PR: Colin Beaulieu ‘21
Offensive MVP:
Max Chipouras ‘19
Seasoned NESCAC vet Max Chipouras will look to continue his dominance of the conference into his senior year. A former NESCAC Rookie of the Year and a two-time 1st team selection, Chipouras already has more hardware than some entire teams in the NESCAC.
There is no doubt that he will be featured early and often for the Bantams this season and I doubt that this will be the year that the conference figures him out. Chipouras will be supported by an offensive line that lacks neither experience or talent. Not only will defenses struggle to get Chipouras to the ground, they will struggle to get to him at all.
Defensive MVP:
Corey Jean-Jacques ‘19
Another former 1st team selection, something that the Bantams are far from lacking, Jean-Jacques returns for a final year of terrorizing quarterbacks. Last season the defensive linemen recorded 4.5 sacks as well as 9 tackles for a loss. Jean-Jacques is the cornerstone of an experienced defensive line for the Bantams, which helped them to a conference-low 9.8 points allowed per game. Trinity also allowed less than 100 rushing yards per game, the only team in the NESCAC to do so. Jean-Jacques is one of 7 returning starters for the Bantam defense who should only improve upon their dominance from last season.
Biggest Game: Saturday, November 3rd at Home vs. Amherst
Amherst was able to stifle the Bantams perfect season last year, handing them their only loss 28-20. I’ve got no doubt that Trinity has revenge on their mind and has circled this date on their calendar.
Best Tweet:
https://twitter.com/TrinFootball/status/978251755401211905
They’re cocky but they can back it up. Gotta respect the rings.
Everything Else:
The biggest question by far this year for the Bantams is about the quarterback position. At this point, it looks like Jordan Pizarro, a transfer from Rhode Island, will be the guy for the job. While Pizarro has the D1 pedigree to his advantage, other quarterbacks such as David Ryan and Brad Whitman are certainly not out of the question. The biggest thing that Trinity has going for them is their abundance of returning starters. Between offense, defense and special teams; the Bantams are returning 15 starters from their NESCAC championship squad last season, many of whom were decorated with All-NESCAC awards at the end of the year. Their top receivers Koby Schofer and Jonathan Girard will be returning this year and whoever their quarterback is will be grateful to have their talents at their dispense. There’s absolutely no doubt that Max Chipouras will be making a significant impact as he has every other year he’s been on the field. The vast majority of their shut-down defense is returning, meaning that the best defense (Editor’s Note: I still think Amherst has the best defense) in the conference should only be stronger and less relenting. Overall, Trinity has been, can be and will be an absolutely dominant force in the NESCAC this year and it will take nothing less than an incredible performance to take them down this year. My projected record for them is 8-1.
Editor’s Note: As you may have noticed, we have three writers projecting teams to have 8-1 seasons, which doesn’t make much sense. Spencer, Andrew, and I disagree which team, Amherst, Wesleyan, or Trinity, will win the NESCAC, but luckily, as supreme power, I can overrule them. Our official projected records have Amherst at 8-1, Wesleyan at 7-2, and Trinity at 6-3. I’m not quite as good as Vegas at setting the win total for the season, but we’ll see how it all plays out in the coming weeks.